15 of the Best Cashback Apps and Websites

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Cashback apps provide an easy way to save money, but with so many options out there, how do you know which apps and websites are worth your time? Here is our list of the best cashback apps you can start using today.

Whenever you’re looking to save money or create some extra breathing room in your budget, one of the first things you should do is look for easy wins. An easy win is something that will take little-to-no effort on your part, will have no negative impact on your life, and still saves you some money.

But the truth is, some methods for saving money will take quite a bit of work or sacrifice on your part. Now, that doesn’t mean that these methods aren’t worth your time or effort, but I would always recommend starting with the easy wins and then moving on from there.

The easy wins will not only help you to start saving money very quickly, but they’ll also give you encouragement and motivation from seeing noticeable results so quickly.

One of my favorite easy wins is to use cash back apps and websites. They will pay you for buying things that you need to buy anyway. To make it even better, you can combine them with a good cashback credit card or coupons to save even more money (see How to Stack Rewards and Cash Back).

This article highlights 15 of the best cash back apps and websites that you should consider using. To make the deal even sweeter, many of them give a signup bonus just for joining.

For a long time I didn’t use cash back sites or apps because I didn’t want to be bothered. But within the past few years I’ve made an effort to maximize my credit card rewards (another easy win) and that led me to try cash back sites as well. Once you start using a few of these sites or apps you’ll be pleasantly surprised at just how easy it is to get free money this way.

The Best Cash Back Websites and Apps

While the goal of all of these sites/apps is to help you save money, they do not all function in the same way. I’ll try to explain the most important factors about each so you can decide which ones are best for you.

Everyone should be using the top 5 sites and apps listed below. The others listed are also great, but the top 5 will give you great results with minimal effort on your part.

Rakuten (formerly known as Ebates) is easily my favorite site/app for cash back, and it’s also probably the most well-known in the industry. You can use the desktop website or the mobile app to earn cash back. All you need to do is go to Rakuten first, then click through to one of their partner websites and you’ll earn cash back for your purchase. With thousands of websites/stores in their program, your balance can grow really quickly.

One of my favorite features of Rakuten in their browser extension. You can easily and quickly get their cash back button for internet browsers like Chrome and Firebox. As you’re browsing, the extension will alert you when you’re visiting a site that offers cash back through Rakuten. Then, all you need to do is click on the button to activate the cash back. This makes it extremely easy to earn cashback since they’re reminding you about it.

Another feature that I love is how Rakuten will automatically search and find coupon codes that you can use. When you’re going through the checkout process on one of their many partner websites, Rakuten will alert you if there’s a coupon code than can save you some money. It doesn’t get any easier than that!

As an Rakuten member you’ll have access to limited-time offers including discounts and extra cash back. They’re always running promotions with different stores and websites, so if you keep your eyes on these offers, you can find some great deals.

You’ll also have the opportunity to earn cash back from in-store purchases, although the current number of these offers is much smaller than the offers for online shopping through Rakuten.

In my opinion, using Rakuten is a no-brainer. They make it so easy and effortless to save money, and there are so many great websites and stores in their program. If that’s not enough to convince you, Rakuten will also give you a $10 bonus for signing up (to get the bonus you must make a purchase of at least $25 within 90 days).

Rakuten has a ton of great websites and stores in their program. I don’t want to list percentages of cash back by site/store because that can change quickly, but through Rakuten you can earn cash back for purchases at Amazon, Walmart, Ebay, Macy’s, Expedia, Jet, Staples, Lowe’s, and many others.

Rakuten (formerly Ebates) is one of the most popular cashback apps and you can easily save money at thousands of stores and websites with a free account. You can even get a $10 bonus just for signing up and making your first purchase!

Swagbucks is different then any of the other sites that we’ve looked at so far. You can earn points (they call them Swagbucks) for several different things like taking surveys, watching videos, playing games, downloading apps, and more. One of the ways you can earn is by shopping at the thousands of websites that have partnered with Swagbucks.

If you install their extension to your browser, it will notify you of cash back opportunities while you are browsing (very similar to the Rakuten browser extension). You can earn Swagbucks on your mobile phone, tablet, or desktop/laptop. Redeem you Swagbucks for cash (through PayPal) or gift cards.

Although the cashback aspect of Swagbucks is similar to Rakuten, you should sign up for both. Not every store will be a part of both programs, and sometimes the cashback is higher at Rakuten and sometimes it’s higher at Swagbucks.

Ibotta is a popular cashback app, but it works much differently than Rakuten. You can install Ibotta on your smartphone (use this link to get a $20 sign up bonus) and you’ll be able to browse excellent money-saving offers. You can browse the offers by store or view the hottest offers. You’ll then claim the offers that you want, and you’ll earn cash back after you’ve made the purchase. If you’re making the purchase in store you can use your phone to scan your receipt, or link it to your store loyalty card.

You can also shop online to earn cash back from Ibotta. Simply click through the app to one of their partner websites and it will automatically track your shopping trip and add the cash back to your account.

They also offer Pay with Ibotta, which allows you to pay through the app at more than 30 participating retailers. You earn cashback for purchases that you make through Pay with Ibotta.

I’ve been using Ibotta for a few years and I love how easy they make it for you. Some of the offers allow you to earn a pretty significant amount of cash back. The end result is that both Rakuten and Ibotta make it possible to earn really easy money, they just do it in different ways.

Ibotta will give you some great offers where you can earn a few dollars at a time. Last month I got $5 in cash back just for making any purchase on my mobile phone through the app. I just went to Walmart.com and bought a few things that I needed anyway. An easy $5!

Ibotta is great for saving money at grocery stores, as there are a lot of grocery offers. You can also use it at stores like department stores like Walmart, clothing stores, and even for travel booking. I’ve also saved money at Lowe’s a few times with the help of Ibotta.

You can cash out your balance to PayPal, or you can use it for gift cards to your favorite stores and restaurants. Sometimes you’ll get an offer for extra savings if you opt for a gift card from certain retailers or restaurants.

Ibotta is one of the best cashback apps that you need to be using if you like to save money. Save money on the things you need to buy at grocery stores, department stores, home improvement stores, and online.

Fetch Rewards is the best cashback app created specifically for groceries. The best part is, it’s super easy to use. All you need to do is use the app to scan your grocery receipts and you’ll earn points for each receipt.

On top of the points that you’ll earn for each receipt, you’ll also earn points every time you purchase a product from certain brands (and there are a lot of different brands that participate). You don’t need to claim these offers. The points will automatically be added to your account after you’ve scanned the receipt.

There are also some limited-time offers that you can redeem if there is an offer for something you want or need to buy. Again, these will be credited to your account if you purchase the item and scan a receipt for that purchase.

The ease of use is definitely one of the best features of Fetch Rewards. If you don’t like spending time looking at special offers, all you need to do is scan your receipts and Fetch Rewards will do the rest. And since we all need to buy groceries, earning some cashback for those grocery purchases is a great way to save money.

Once you’ve earn some points, you can redeem the points for your choice of rewards, like gift cards to your favorite stores or websites.

TopCashback works similarly to Rakuten. You can shop through TopCashback to earn cash back from thousands of different websites.

TopCashback also provides some coupon codes and you can use the mobile app for other coupons, including in-store coupons.

You can cash out to PayPal or by ACH. You can also opt for an Amazon gift card and get a 3% bonus.

While TopCashback may not be as well-known as Rakuten, it’s certainly one of the best options. There are thousands of stores that participate in the TopCashback program, and in many cases, you’ll be able to earn the maximum amount through TopCashback. I definitely recommend adding it to the list of apps/sites that you use.

MyPoints is similar to Swagbucks in a lot of ways. You can earn points for taking surveys, watching videos, and playing games, in addition to cash back from your shopping. The Score browser extension from MyPoints will notify you of cash back offers while you’re browsing.

You can redeem your points for gift cards from many different stores/websites/restaurants.

One cool feature of MyPoints is the Daily 5. If you complete 5 of these items you’ll earn 5 bonus points, plus the points you earn for each of the tasks.

Like Rakuten, Swagbucks, and TopCashback, MyPoints has partnered with thousands of different retailers and websites, so there are lots of opportunities to save money through their program.

Earn cash back from purchases at thousands of online retailers and earn rewards for simple tasks like taking online surveys, watching videos, and printing coupons. Sign up for MyPoints now for a $10 bonus!

Dosh is another one of my favorites, and I recommend that everyone use this app because it’s incredibly easy. There are a few different ways to earn, but the easiest way is to simply link your credit and debit cards to your Dosh account. Whenever you pay with one of your cards at one of their partner stores you will earn cash back. That’s pretty easy!

I recommend everyone to use Dosh because it takes just a minute to create your account and link your cards. And you can start earn cash back right away.

The Dosh app will show you a list of cash back offers from stores and restaurants that are near your current location. Many of these are local places. You won’t find a lot of these stores and restaurants with many other cash back websites or apps. I’m seeing up to 10% cash back offers from stores in my local area.

You can also earn cash back by shopping online through Dosh. This works similarly to Rakuten or Ibotta. Just go to Dosh first, click through to the site you want to shop at, and you’ll earn some cash back.

Drop is very similar to Dosh, and it’s another app that I recommend to everyone. Just like Dosh, I recommend Drop because it’s so easy. Recently I created a Drop account and linked my credit cards. Then I started getting notifications of points that I had earned. Without even realizing it, I shopped at a few stores and restaurants that are in Drop’s program and I earned cash back because I paid with my linked credit card. That’s as easy as it gets.

When you create your Drop account, you’ll choose five of your favorite stores or restaurants that are in their program. Whenever you shop at any of those five places and use your linked credit or debit card, you’ll earn points. You’ll also be able to earn points by making other purchases and claiming offers through the app.

Drop uses points, and then you trade in those points for gift cards at many different stores and restaurants.

Drop highlights:

$1 bonus for signing up

Easy cash back by linking your credit can debit cards to the app

Redeem your points for gift cards to many different stores/restaurants

Bumped is technically not a cashback app, but I wanted to include it in this article because it functions pretty much the same way, and because I love it.

Instead of cashback, Bumped allows you to earn stock based on your purchases. When you create your account, you’ll be able to pick your favorite merchant from several different categories. You’ll also link your debit and credit cards to the app and then whenever you make a purchase at one of the merchants you’ve selected, you’ll earn stock as a percentage of the purchase.

For example, if McDonald’s is selected as your favorite fast food restaurant, you’ll earn fractional shares of McDonald’s stock worth 3% of your McDonald’s purchases. You’ll be earning stock from the stores, restaurants, and gas stations that you shop at the most.

The best part of Bumped, in my opinion, is that you’ll earn the stock rewards on top of other cashback or rewards. If you pay with a cashback credit card, you’ll earn rewards from the credit card as well as the stock. And if you’re making a purchase from a store or restaurant that has some sort of loyalty program, you’ll also earn those rewards.

Bumped is a relatively new app and currently you need to sign up for the waitlist before you’ll be able to create an account. I signed up for the waitlist last year and received my invitation to create an account just about a month later.

Bumped Highlights:

You’ll earn fractional shares of stock instead of cash back

Select your favorite stores and brands in several different categories

Link your credit or debit cards to the app to automatically earn stock for your purchases

You’ll earn stock whenever you make a purchase with a linked card at one of your selected merchants

With the CoinOut app, you can scan any receipt and earn cashback. You can also click through the app to earn much more cashback at places like Walmart, eBay, Groupon and others.

Possibly the most interesting part of CoinOut is the fact that there are no minimum requirements for cashing out. You can redeem your cash or PayPal rewards at any time. Almost every other cashback app requires you to reach a minimum threshold before you can redeem, so CoinOut is unique in this way.

RebateKey is much different than any of the other sites/apps listed on this page. RebateKey specifically focuses on rebates for purchases made on Amazon, and you can earn some really amazing rebates, including some rebates for 100% of the purchase price.

More than half of the sales made on Amazon today are from third-party sellers. There is a great deal of competition among sellers who are trying to get their products to rank at the top of Amazon’s search results. Many sellers are willing to offer outstanding rebates in order to get some momentum and increased sales.

Through RebateKey, Amazon sellers can offer rebates on their products. As a buyer, you can create a free RebateKey account to see all of the current offers. After you make a purchase, you’ll provide RebateKey with your Amazon order number so the purchase can be verified. After 30 days, RebateKey will mail you a check for your rebate. The reason for the 30-day wait is to get past the refund window so customers don’t claim a rebate and then return the purchase.

I’ve used RebateKey myself and everything went exactly as it was supposed to. I found an item on RebateKey with a 100% rebate offer. I purchased the product, submitted my order number, and about a month later I received the check in the mail.

If you like shopping at Amazon and you like saving money, this is a site that you should definitely check out (you’ll probably be interested in these other sites for Amazon coupons and rebates).

Trunow is a cashback app specifically created for purchases at gas stations. You can earn cashback with your receipts for gas and food purchases made at gas stations. You’ll earn 1% – 2% cashback, depending on where you purchase the gas.

Once you’ve earned some rewards, you can redeem them at participating stores. You can also redeem the rewards for PayPal cash, but you’ll take a 50% hit if you choose that redemption option.

If you spend a lot of money on gas, Trunow can be worth the effort. All you need to do is take a photo of the receipt through the app. And best of all, this cashback can be stacked with other rewards.

ShopKick is a cash back app that’s a bit different from any of the other apps or websites on this list. With ShopKick you earn points (they call them “kicks”) for different activities. You can earn kicks for things as simple as walking into a store and/or scanning a barcode on a product with your phone. You can link your credit or debit cards and earn kicks for purchases at their partner stores. You can also shop online and earn kicks. You can then redeem your kicks for gift cards.

ShopKick highlights:

Earn kicks in many different ways, even just by walking into stores or scanning barcodes

Earn cash back from purchases made with a linked card or online purchases

Paribus, owned by Capital One, is a free app that helps you to get refunds for your purchases. You’ll link Paribus to the email address that you use for online purchases and Paribus will scan any receipt emails that you receive. If you made a purchase at a store or website with a low-price guarantee, Paribus will look for lower prices and price drops. If it finds a lower price on the same item, it will notify you and help you to get a refund for the difference.

In addition to helping with refunds, Paribus will also track your shipments from Amazon. If a shipment is late, Paribus will notify you and help you to get compensation from Amazon. I’ve received several $5 credits from Amazon as a result of late shipments that were pointed out to me by Paribus.

Highlights of Paribus:

Paribus will notify you when it finds a lower price on an item that you purchased

Paribus will help you to get a refund for the difference

It will also monitor your Amazon shipments and let you know if a shipment is late, and help you to get compensation for it

Start Earning Cash Back

Now that you’ve read through this article, be sure to take action and sign up for a few of these sites /apps so you can start earning cash back on the money you’re spending. All of these options have something to offer, but I recommend going back to the top of the page and starting with the first five that are mentioned. I think you’ll find this is a great way to get some free money with very little effort.

About The Author

I've been working in internet marketing full-time since 2008. I started VitalDollar.com to share from my experience and to help others who want to improve their own financial situation. Since starting Vital Dollar, I've been featured at sites like Forbes and Business Insider. You can read my full bio here.

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